Sim Wheel Hand Controls for Disabled Users
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The University of Akron IdeaExchange@UAkron Williams Honors College, Honors Research The Dr. Gary B. and Pamela S. Williams Honors Projects College Spring 2021 Sim Wheel Hand Controls For Disabled Users Weston Davis [email protected] Jade Reese [email protected] Joshua King [email protected] Duncan O'Brien [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects Part of the Mechanical Engineering Commons Please take a moment to share how this work helps you through this survey. Your feedback will be important as we plan further development of our repository. Recommended Citation Davis, Weston; Reese, Jade; King, Joshua; and O'Brien, Duncan, "Sim Wheel Hand Controls For Disabled Users" (2021). Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects. 1377. https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/1377 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by The Dr. Gary B. and Pamela S. Williams Honors College at IdeaExchange@UAkron, the institutional repository of The University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, USA. It has been accepted for inclusion in Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects by an authorized administrator of IdeaExchange@UAkron. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Sim Wheel Hand Controls Project By Duncan O'Brien Jade Reese Joshua King Weston Davis Final Report for 4600:402-497 Honors Design, Spring 2021 Faculty Advisor: Dr. Scott Sawyer Honors Reader 1: Dr. Ajay Mahajan Honors Reader 2: Dr. Alper Buldum Monday, May 3, 2021 Project No. 40 Abstract The Sim Wheel Hand Controls kit is an open-source project for disabled individuals to experience simulation racing. The project converts a Thrustmaster TX foot pedal set into hand-operated brake and throttle controls. The module uses elements from the pedal set, a 3D printed housing and commonly available hardware. The Do-It-Yourself nature of the project allows the product to be inexpensive and accessible compared to its single competitor. A website was created to share the 3D printing files, detailed instruction manual and resources provided free by the University of Akron. The team found the module to be ergonomic, durable, realistic, and comfortable for several hand sizes of users. Most importantly, this product gives racers the ability to remain competitive against those who are racing by traditional means. This report details the product development process, testing procedures, results and community outreach involved in creating and distributing the Sim Wheel Hand Controls kit. ii Acknowledgments Throughout the final two semesters of their 5th year in Mechanical Engineering, the four students found incredible support from the University of Akron and Akron non-profits. The team members would like to express great appreciation for Dr. Nadkarni for organizing the Honors Research Project course as well as supporting the SWHC team with enthusiasm. The team is particularly grateful for the guidance given by Dr. Sawyer. As the advisor for this self-initiated project, Dr. Sawyer backed the team with advice to overcome obstacles and provided encouragement through monthly meetings. The team would like to say a special thanks to Aaron Trexler, ASEC Printing Lab's Sr. Engineering Technician, for his constant support with 3D scanning and 3D printing. The team is thankful for being one of the first teams to use the 3D scanning resources which became available in January. The University of Akron resources and Aaron's willingness to support the team with printing prototypes ensured the success of this project. Dr. Kannan also made an impact on the team, as he provided measurement tools for the team that were not originally at UA. His willingness to provide resources for the project made a massive, positive difference in the verification process. Additionally, the team is grateful for Kee Sin, Sr. Development Engineer from Robin Industries, for providing the team with injection molding knowledge and mold quotes regarding the theoretical commercialization of the product. The team would also like to thank Dr. Felicelli, Professor and Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department, for being willing to offer free 3D printing services to the first 25 people who reach out about creating the SWHC kit. Community outreach and support could not have been possible without Mike Firtha, President of the Akron Inclusioneers, and Haylee Desonne, Leader of Summit DD. The team is grateful for their time to learn more about the SWHC kit and willingness to support the use of the product with real people in the community. With the collaboration between the SWHC team and the Akron non-profits, the simulation racing hobby can grow and become more diverse and inclusive, especially here in Akron, Ohio. iii Contents 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Background 2 1.2 Principles of Operation 3 1.3 Product Definition 3 1.4 Preliminary Market Research 4 2. Design 6 2.1 Conceptual Design Phase 6 2.1.1 Expanded Design Brief 6 2.1.2 Overall and Detailed Function Structure Diagrams 7 2.1.3 Objective Tree 8 2.1.4 Concept Sketches 9 2.1.5 Weighted Decision Matrix 11 2.1.6 Design Screening Criteria 13 2.1.7 Gathering Resources 14 2.2 Embodiment Design Phase 15 2.2.1 Design Challenges 15 2.2.2 Product Architecture 16 2.2.3 Component Interfaces 17 2.2.4 Selections of Materials and Manufacturing Processes 20 2.2.5 Mathematical Model 22 2.3 Detailed Design 42 2.3.1 Final Design Elements 42 2.3.2 Design Components and Standards 45 2.3.3 Iterative Design Process 46 2.3.4 Detailed Drawings 53 iv 3. Verification 58 3.1 Force Gauge Foot Pedal Test 58 3.1.1 Pedal Force Reduction Test 60 3.1.2 Comparing Model to Physical Product 60 3.2 Potentiometer Rotation Test 62 3.3 Real-World Lap Testing 63 3.3.1 Foot Pedal Lap Test 63 3.3.2 Hand Controls Lap Test 63 3.3.3 Real-World Testing Conclusions 64 4. Costs 65 4.1 Physical Costs 65 4.2 Labor 66 4.3 Commercialization Injection Molding 66 5. Conclusion 69 5.1 Accomplishments 69 5.2 Uncertainties 70 5.3 Ethical Considerations 71 5.4 Future Work 71 References 73 Appendix 74 v 1. Introduction The Sim Wheel Hand Controls kit, or SWHC kit, seeks to break down exclusive barriers within simulation racing. To accomplish this, the four mechanical engineering students from the University of Akron have focused their energy on product design and development over the past two semesters. The team sought to develop a hand control module attachment for a common entry-level simulation racing set- up so that even disabled gamers who cannot use their legs to activate the traditional foot pedals can enjoy the hobby. Since there are limited options on the market for adapting simulation racing set-ups, disabled people are having to spend hundreds of dollars more than anyone else just to try out the activity. If they do not want to spend the money, people try to create their own systems, often unreliable and thrown together, to activate the foot pedals. Most often, gamers are simply deterred from trying simulation racing because of the lack of products that make the systems accessible; therefore, the SWHC kit enters as the keystone for an inexpensive, easy-to-use, accessible 'Do-It-Yourself' kit that preserves the real-life thrill of racing. Much of the coursework from the University of Akron contributed to the steps of the design process, which can be viewed in Figure 1. First was the conceptual design phase, in which the team began brainstorming concepts, gathering resources and understanding their objectives through decision matrices. This phase was heavily inspired by the coursework in Concepts of Design. Most of this work was completed from September 2020 through November 2020. Next came the embodiment design phase, in which the team began more detailed 3D designs via SolidWorks as well as creating a mathematical model via MATLAB to theoretically prove that the concepts would work. The team also researched materials, manufacturing processes and industry standards. The team found support from the University of Akron's ASEC 3D printing services: 3D printing became a large portion of the prototype process and became the goal for the final product's manufacturing process. This phase heavily used knowledge from Design of Mechanical Components, Dynamics and Vibrations. The team executed the embodiment stage from mid- November 2020 to February 2021. Finally, the last phase was the detail design phase, in which the final design was converted into engineering drawings, instruction manuals for the DIY and a website. This phase was done from February 2021 to April 2021. Throughout each of the design phases, coursework from Basic Electrical Engineering and techniques learned in Mechanical Engineering Lab were used to complete verification testing. From understanding force curves via the force gauge tests, testing the potentiometers used in the modules and completing the comparative racing trials, the team was able to verify that the module was efficient, ergonomic and still allowed users to remain competitive compared to people using foot pedals. Additionally, the different project costs are a vital part to acknowledge, as there are costs associated with estimated labor a company would encounter, actual costs of the project the team faced, and the estimated costs for the SWHC module for the consumer. The team also detailed the cost of proposed commercialization of the SWHC kit via injection molding. Overall, the team worked diligently to design and test a product to fill this need, but the true goal was that the product could be used by real people. The team included customer outreach and community interaction as a main block in the diagram because they reached out to non-profits in the community as 1 well as made the effort to connect with people around the world via the popular Reddit community.